Unloading machine for railroad cars and the like



Jan; 8, 1924. 1,480,470

R. c. ROSENBERG, JR I UNLOADING MACHINE FOR RAILROAD CARS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 12 1921 '3 Sheets-Sheet 1 D llll Jim/e17 d 0]".

15.675059)? (fie/ (7):

Mia/way.

Jan. 8, 1924. 1,480,470

R. C. ROSENBERG, JR

UNLOADING MACHINE FOR RAILROAD CARS AND THE LIKE Filed Deg. 12. 18 21 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 8 1924. 1,480,470

R. C. ROSENBERG, JR UNLOADING MACHINE FOR RAILROAD CARS AND THE LIKE Filed Decl 12. 1921 s Sheefs-Sheet s Tn V6)? t 01 lids-Q2258) J74, wyim Patented Jan. ,8, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQ ROBERT C. ROSENBERG, m, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

unmanned mom son 'mnnom cans AND 'rnn uxn Application filed December 12, 1921. Serial No. 521,717.

To all whiom it may concern:

Be it known that I ROBERT C. Rosnnnnne, Jr., a citizen of the llnited States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San practically all material from open topcars,

such as gondola cars.

Another object of this invention is toprovide convenient means associated with the machine and adapted to compensate for varying widths of cars and also serving to steady and balance the machine on the car to be unloaded.

A further object of this invention 1s to provide a machine for rapidly unloading cars, which is simple in construction, and light enough to be shifted from one car to another through the provision of improved means, and a machine which will require only the services of a single operator to accomplish the unloading of the car- A further object of this invention is to provide means cooperating with the endless conveyor adapted to retain the said conveyor in an adjusted position.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which l ke numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a gondola car with my invention being mountedthereon,

the an Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view disclosing lar movements of the conveyor on one si e of the car,

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view disclosing the angular movements of the conveyor on the opposite side of the car.

Fig. 4 is a detail Side elevation of a gondola car with the machine being shown in front elevation.

. Fig.5 is a vertical section through the car withthe machine being shown thereon partly v in elevation and artly in section,

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the conveyor supporting means forming a part of my invention,

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through a part of the table, and supporting means the view being taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6, Fi 8 is a detail plan view of the upper end hoom showing to advantage the upper sprocket for the elevating chain,

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the lower end of the boom, showing to advantage the lower sprocket for the elevating chain,

Fig. 10 is a detail view showing a pawl and ratchet forming a part of my invention, and the supporting means therefor, the View being taken on the line 1010 of a Figure 11,

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail of the same, the view being shown on the line 11-11 of Figure 10, and

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the means for transferring the machine from one car to another.

In the accompanying drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the reference character A designates a gondola car, B the machine as a whole and C a truck or any suitable wheeled vehicle which is adapted to receive material unloaded from the body of the gondola car. 7

p The machine per se includes a frame 15 extending parallel to the upper edge ofone wall D of the car and is provided with a pair of double flanged wheels 16 adapted to rest on the upper edge of the side wall D. Connected to t e frame by brace rods 17, is a turn table indicated as a whole by the numeral 18. This turn table has centrally disposed therein a tublar standard 19 and has likewise provided supporting bars 20 which have connected to their upper extremities a yoke 21. Secured to the frame 15 and extending beneath the turn table is a cross arm 22 which terminates in a sleeve 23 adapted to receive therein a shaft 24 which has mounted on its outer extremity a double flanged wheel 25 and on its inner extremity a collar 26, which serves to prevent the shaft 24 from being disengaged from the sleeve 23. It is manifest by this construction, that site wheels 16 serves to balance the machine on the top of the car. The construction of the shaft 24 and the collar 26 compensates for varying widths of cars and thus makes the machine applicable to various types of gondola cars.

Angle irons 26 and 27 are connected to the yoke 21 adjacent the lower extremity thereof and have secured thereto a platform adapted to support a motor 28, which is the 'medium through which the machine is extremity a shaft 34' provided with a lower sprocket wheel 35 over which the chain 32 is also trained. Connected to the motor 28 i is a drive shaft 36 having mounted on its free end a beveled gear 37 adapted to mesh with a gear 38. This gear upon its rotation is adapted to drive a chain belt 39 which in turn is trained over a driving sprocket wheel 40 mounted adjacent one extremity of the shaft 30 and adapted to rota-tethe same for the purpose of driving the chain 32.

The numeral 41 designatesa hopper ada ted to be positioned in close proximity to t e yoke 21 so as to receive the material conveyed from the bottom of the car and carried b the buckets 33. This hopper has detachab y secured thereto a telescoping funnel 42 provided with a flexible connection 43 receivable on the lower end of the hopper, so that the funnel may be adjusted to various angular positions and thus roportionately distribute the load in the ottom of the conve or C.

As shown to a ivantage in Figure 5 I have pivotally' connected one extremity of a supporting arm 43' to one of the braces 20 and have-integrally formed with this supporting' arm a slotted quadrant or lever 44 through which extends a shaft 45,-adapted to be operated by a hand wheel 46. From .the beam 34 there depends a hanger 46 through which the shaft 45 extends, while cooperating pinions .46 mesh with racks 46 formed integral with the slotted quadrant 44. These pinions are. likewise mounted on the shaft 45 and by their actuation, through the medium of the hand wheel 46, serve to elevate or lower the conveyor with relation to the body of the car. On the shaft I have also positioned a control ratchet 47 cooperating with a pawl-48 pivoted on the quadrant 44 for the pur ose of retaining the conveyor in an adjust position. j

ma e-7o ways in the same position relative to the yoke. Thus I have avoided the necessity of providing means for shifting the machine crosswise of the car and have disclosed novel construction whereby the buckets of the conveyor may be brought into contact with material in all parts of the gondola. car for rapidly unloading the same.

i l hen it is desired to retain the wheels 16 in alignment it is only necessary to insert locking pins 50 in discs 50 of the wheel brackets and thus there will be no danger of the wheels being displaced from the top walls of the car.

In Figure 12 there has been disclosed means for transferring the machine from one car to the other and. this means includes a cross bar 51 equipped with pivoted inclined extremities 52 and. 53 over which the respective flanged wheels of the machine ride when the apparatus is being transferred from one car to another;

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same,.and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts me. be resorted to without departing from t e spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having claim 1. A machine of the character described adapted to rest and travel upon the top of the walls of a car, said machine comprising a supporting frame, a turn table. connected to said frame, a vertical standard positioned in said turn table, a yoke connected to said standard, endlessvconveying means for receiving the material in the car and delivering the material outside the car, mechanism for actuating said conveying means, means for adjusting the conveyor to retain thesame in a fixed receiving and delivering position, and means connected to said turn table for compensating for various widths of cars so that the machine may be balanced thereon, said means including a cross arm provided with a sleeve, and a shaft longitudinally movable in said sleeve.

2. A machine of the character described adapted to rest and travel upon the top walls of the car, said machine comprising. a supporting frame, a, turn table connected to said frame, a vertical standard positioned in said turn table, a yoke connected to said standard, an endless conveying means for thus described my invention, I

receiving the material in the body of the car and delivering the material outside the car, a platform disposed in a plane parallel to the plane in the top ofthe car and connected to said yoke, a motor disposed on said platform, and mechanism connected to said motor and conveying means for actuating the latter.

3. A machine of the character descri'bed adapted to rest and travel upon the top walls of the car, said machine comprising a supporting frame, a turn table connected'to said frame, a vertical standard positioned in said turn table, a yoke connected to said standard, an endless conveying means for receivin the material in the body of the car and de ivering the material outside the car, a platform disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of the top of the car and connected to said yoke, a motor disposed on said platform, mechanism connected to said conve or and adapted to actuate the same, said mec anism including a driving shaft, a chain drive, a driving sprocket,- and a main shaft driven by said driving sprocket.

In testimony whereof I, afiix my signature.

ROBERT C. ROSENBERG, JR. 

